


Hurricane

by helsinkibaby



Series: The District Dating Scene [2]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Het, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-03 00:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15807309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Ellie and Nick are keeping their relationship a secret. But when a Category 3 Hurricane (named George, John and Rob) blows through their life, things change.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written because I wondered what life would be like in season 14 if Nick had been the secret boyfriend. 
> 
> For the "hurricane" square on my Gen Prompt Bingo card

“Ok, so you gonna tell me what’s eating you?” 

Ellie turns her head to look sharply at Nick. His face is carefully neutral, inscrutable, and to anyone who might look over at them, it will look like he’s observing the crime scene through a camera lens while she stands beside him taking notes. All perfectly innocent, perfectly above board. 

But Ellie can hear the tone in his voice, can detect a note of something in there that’s definitely not strictly collegial concern. 

So she does the only thing she can, the thing that’s second nature to her. “Nick, we’re at work.” 

She’s told him that more than once, usually when she catches him looking admiringly at her across a crime scene. Which he does a lot and she’s not used to it. It makes her a little uncomfortable and not just because she’s well aware that they’re breaking Gibbs’s Rule Twelve. She’s just not used to such frank admiration - she hasn’t really dated since Jake and her ex-husband’s ways of showing affection were very different, more muted let’s say, than Nick’s. 

“I noticed.” His lips twitch and he shoots her a quick look out of the corner of his eye. “Nice denial with Quinn, by the way.” 

She remembers the look on Alex’s face at the response to her innocent observance of their outfits and her question of if they’d been on a date. She had said no while Nick had said yes and Alex’s eyes had grown wide as she’d reached the only possible - and unfortunately for them, right - conclusion. “Not with her,” Nick had said quickly and it had only stung a little. 

“What else was I supposed to say?” Ellie asked him, keeping her voice low. There’s no keeping the frustration out of her voice though and he hears it loud and clear, lowers the camera and turns his body slightly towards her. 

“Ok, baby, you need to tell me what’s the matter.” Theres so much concern in his voice that she doesn’t even bother correcting him for using a term of endearment on company time. “Because I dropped you off a half hour ago and you were fine. But you hardly said two words in the car on the way here and you’re acting like you’re about to jump out of your skin any minute.” 

Ellie presses her lips together and takes a deep breath. She knows she’s going to have to tell him sooner or later, she was just hoping for later. After a good night’s sleep. Possibly several good nights’ sleep. “My brothers are in town.” Well, she’d always been a rip the band aid kind of girl. “They were in my apartment when I got home. They decided they wanted to spend Thanksgiving with me.” 

Nick blinks. “Brothers? As in-?”

“All three of them.” He gives a low whistle as Ellie confirms his suspicions. He’s heard a lot of stories about her brothers over the past few weeks; she just hadn’t expected the two parts of her life to collide so soon. 

“Look, it’s no problem. I can lie low for a few days til they head home.” To his credit, Nick spots the problem straight away. They both know they’re nowhere near the “meeting the family” stage yet. 

Except they mightn’t have a choice in the matter. 

“It’s not that simple,” she admits. “When they realised it was after midnight when I got home... and saw what I was wearing... and smelled my perfume...”

Nick likes that perfume but she knows that’s not why his eyes go wide. “They figured out you were on a date.” 

Ellie screws up her face as she admits her slip up. “And I may have said that they had nothing to worry about because there was nothing that an NCIS background check wouldn’t have picked up on.” 

Her eyes are closed but Nick’s silence speaks volumes. Sure enough, when she’s brave enough to open her eyes, he’s staring at her, eyes wide and jaw agape. He visibly shakes himself, tries to look on the bright side. “Ok so they know it’s a co-worker. What’s the worst they can do?” 

“Oh god.” Ellie closes her eyes again, looks up to heaven. “Please tell me you didn’t just tempt fate like that.” 

“You don’t believe in tempting fate.” 

Which is true, Nick is the superstitious one of the two of them. However, Nick’s never met her brothers. “You don’t know what they’re like,” she tells him. “They’re like this... force of nature. This hurricane that just blows through my life, disturbing everything whether I want it to or not.” She lets out a long breath, pinches the bridge of her nose. “They’re unstoppable, Nick, you have no idea.” 

Nick takes a step towards her, bumps her shoulder with his. “Must be a Bishop thing,” he teases and somehow it makes her smile. “Don’t worry, B,” he tells her. “We got this.” 

Twenty four hours later, a hand reaches out from a deserted office and pulls her inside and when she sees the look on Nick’s face, she knows that the last thing on his mind is romance. “You were right about your brothers,” he begins and she closes her eyes and groans. 

“Please tell me it’s not as bad as I think?” She’s begging and she knows it. When she opens his eyes and sees him shaking his head, she actually whimpers before leaning into him and letting her forehead fall against his shoulder. 

Which, yes, is breaking her own non-fraternisation rule but she thinks she’s entitled. Besides it’s either his shoulder or the wall, so his shoulder it is. 

Nick’s hands move to her shoulders, squeeze gently, and she feels him kiss the top of her head. She’d normally ream him out for that, but today is not a normal day. “They’re interrogating every man who has ever so much as glanced at you,” he tells her. “Hurricane just about covers it.” 

She lifts her head, suddenly panicked. “What did you say to them?” she demands and he chuckles as he steps back, holds up two hands. She’s surprised to find she immediately misses the comfort of his touch. 

“Relax, B, I towed the party line, didn’t tell them anything. It was actually like being undercover again; it’s nice to know I haven’t lost my touch.” He’s grinning and she knows him well enough to know that he’s saying that to try to get her to smile. It almost works. Then he shifts on his feet, looks away. “Although... I may have thrown Reeves under the bus a little. But that was just for fun.” 

Ellie pinches the bridge of her nose again, trying to figure how much of a clean up operation she’s going to have to do when all this is over. “Great,” she sighs. 

There’s a moment of silence while she tries to figure out her options, but it’s Nick who makes a suggestion. “Look, we could just tell-”

“No.” Her vehemence shocks even her; he blinks with surprise, his eyes going wide before narrowing and when he cocks his head, suspicion is beginning to creep in. 

"You ashamed of me, B?" His tone is light, almost like she's joking but she knows him and she knows better. 

"No," she says and he must believe her because his shoulders relax ever so slightly. "But if we tell my brothers, then everyone will find out, and you don't know what it's like to have your private life be the subject of office gossip. I had it when I started here, Tim and Tony trying to find out if I was married, who I was married to... and then when I got divorced, it was the same, all the stares and second glances and pitying looks..." Her stomach turns at the memories and she can't quite keep back her shudder. "I swore I would never go through that again." 

Somewhere in the middle of her diatribe, Nick had begun to nod; by the end, his expression is one of understanding, if not sympathy. "Then I come along and screw up your plans, huh?" 

Ellie presses her lips together, draws in a deep breath. "I'm glad you did," she tells him and those four simple words are enough to have him grinning, but not preening like she suspected he would. "But I'm not ready to be put under the microscope again. Not yet." 

After what seems like a long silence, Nick's hands go back to her shoulders, squeezing once before sliding down and taking her hands in his. "Then we play it your way," he says. He lifts one eyebrow, his eyes taking on their customary twinkle. "But don't expect me not to have a little fun with it in the meantime." 

Ellie actually laughs, even if she does feel a little bit of trepidation. "Why am I not surprised?" 

She might not have been surprised then but she is by the next time she gets to talk to Nick privately, in the car on their way to talk to a person of interest. She's on edge, because her brothers have run amok in NCIS and it seems like everyone has an opinion on who her secret boyfriend might be. The fact that she'd felt every eye in the bullpen on her and Nick as they'd walked into the elevator hadn't helped matters. 

They drive in silence until they get away from the Navy Yard, like they're afraid they'll be overheard. Characteristically it's Nick who breaks the silence. 

“So... should we just break up now or leave it til later?” 

Her head whips around so quickly that she’s surprised she doesn’t get whiplash but he’s calm as you please, driving with his eyes on the road and a grin twitching at the edge of his lips. She knows that’s his teasing face but she’s still stuck on the whole “break up” part. Mostly because they haven’t actually had The Big Discussion and she wasn’t actually sure, until she heard those words, if they were just casual or if there was something more there. But also, and she’s just realising this now as she considers those two words, she doesn’t want to stop seeing him. 

“What?” 

She knows she sounds stupid but he just shrugs with one shoulder. He’s still not looking at her which is so not Nick that it unsettles her. And yet, there’s still that little twitch, even if his voice is neutral. “Well, you heard what Abby said about us... seventeen percent compatible? I mean, maybe we should just get out now and save ourselves the hassle...”

Oh, so that was the reason for the grin; she should have guessed, word about Abby’s calculations already having reached her, courtesy of Quinn. She flops back against her seat, presses her head back against the headrest and closes her eyes. She’s very aware of the smile on her own face when she says, “Nick...” with at least seventeen extra syllables in it. 

“I mean, especially if you’re going to end up shacking up with the boss.” She rolls her head to face him and he glances over at her quickly, his face contorting in an exaggerated grimace before he looks back at the road. “Let’s face it, you talk about awkward...”

“I am not going to dump you for Gibbs,” she tells him and wow, those are words she never thought she’d hear passing her lips. 

Maybe Nick never thought he’d hear them either and that’s why he’s breaking out into a full fledged grin. “I dunno, B, eighty seven percent? That’s, like, more than five times as compatible as we are...”

“Stop.” She’s laughing as she swats at his shoulder - gently, he’s still driving after all. 

“See, you’re even copying him now, that’s like the light version of the Gibbs Head Slap. This is so much worse than I thought...” He chances another quick glance at her, his grin widening as he does. “Come on, numbers and logic and shit, that’s totally your thing; I thought you’d be all over that.” 

She shakes her head, still smiling. “Meaningless mumbo jumbo,” she says and she means it. She still adds quickly, “But don’t tell Abby I said that.” 

“Believe me, baby,” Nick grins, “I have no intention of talking to anyone about your love life. Unless it’s you of course.” He takes one hand from the wheel, reaches across and squeezes her knee. “You can trust me.” 

“I do.” 

She thinks it, but she doesn’t say it. 

Only when she's sitting in a Guantanamo Bay detention cell, faced with a man whose been imprisoned for years for a crime he didn't commit, does she realise what a big deal it is to say those those words, moreover to say it and mean it. Beside her, Qasim's quiet voice echoes her own thoughts and she feels like she's going to jump out of her skin at any moment. 

So when she gets back to NCIS, the first person she looks for is Nick. 

"I want to tell them," she says simply and he looks surprised - not that she can blame him - but then he nods. His face might be impassive, but his eyes are dancing. 

They wait until late that night, when the bullpen is deserted, save for the two of them and Gibbs. She stands, marshals her courage and asks to talk to him before coming right out with it. "I broke Rule Twelve, Gibbs." 

The slightest hint of a frown furrows Gibbs's brow and his eyes flick to Ellie's right when there's a quiet "No," from Nick. He comes to stand beside her, slides his hand into hers. "We broke Rule Twelve." 

Gibbs looks from her face to Nick's before his eyes land on their joined hands. He stares at that for a full six seconds - Ellie counts - before he stands and Ellie's sure that that's it, that their careers in NCIS are over. 

Then he speaks. "Took you long enough," he says and he actually sounds amused as he heads to the elevator. 

Ellie feels her jaw drop as she stares after him, and she's not sure if it's her expression or relief that makes Nick laugh. 

Then she decides she doesn't care and laughs right along with him. 

*

She doesn't tell her brothers right away, waits until Thanksgiving day, waits until Nick has texted her to tell her that he's outside. She plays it smart, exacts a promise from them to trust her to make her own choices, ignores the part where they may or may not have egged Jake's car (though she's secretly really hoping they did and that photographs exist) and then she stands up and opens the front door. 

"This is Nick," she says simply, her hand once again in his. "My boyfriend."

Her brothers look delighted, even if the first verbal reaction is "Oh thank God, we thought it was Gibbs!" because seriously? 

But then she's in the middle of a five way hug with the people who mean most to her in the world and she's laughing again and she thinks that this is what Thanksgiving is all about.


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick spends Thanksgiving with Bishop and her brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written purely because Nick and the boys needed to have an Ellie-free conversation...

This is not the Thanksgiving that Nick had planned, but he can't help but think that this one has turned out better. 

He's sitting on Ellie's couch, beer in one hand, the other around Ellie's shoulders. She's sitting beside him, knees curled up underneath her and she's barely looking at him. Which doesn't sound great, but it's only because she's got all her attention on the football game on the screen. She's really into it, which Nick finds cute, and her brothers are the exact same way, which gives Nick a whole new insight into both Ellie and their family dynamics. It's not something he's used to; growing up, it had just been him and Lucia and the age difference hadn't exactly been conducive to them hanging out and doing stuff. Plus, Ellie cooked enough food to feed an army - because she's Ellie and she loves food so of course she did - and there was dessert and there are chips and dips and Nick's already thinking of how much work he's going to have to do at the gym to work all this off. 

He doesn't care. 

This is worth it. 

Although he does have cause to question that when Ellie excuses herself to go to the bathroom and the second the door closes behind her, her three brothers surround him like flies around a honey pot. Which, if he's honest, he was half expecting. After all, they've spent most of this week interrogating the male cohort of NCIS, trying to find out who Ellie has been seeing and he's blown smoke in their direction more than once - he's not sure Reeves is ever going to forgive him. The hugs and the laughter when Ellie had introduced him as her boyfriend had been great, but evidently the initial relief has worn off now and they want answers. 

"So." George, the eldest, is in the middle. "You're dating our sister." 

"Despite the fact you denied it. To our faces." Rob crosses his arms over his chest. 

"Even said she wasn't your type." John lifts an eyebrow. "Care to explain?"

Nick knows that Ellie would have a fit if she knew this conversation was taking place, though she probably already has a pretty good idea if the way she squeezed his knee as she stood up was any indication. He also knows he doesn't necessarily owe them an explanation, that he could just shake his head and play dumb. 

But these are Ellie's brothers. She loves them and he likes them and he's beginning to think he wouldn't mind spending a lot more time with the Bishop family as a whole and one member in particular. 

"Look, guys," he says, holding up one hand, the other joining it in the air as he places his beer on the coffee table. "If it had been up to me, I'd have told you from the get go." It's a slight exaggeration, but not much. He doesn't think he has much to worry about; Ellie's never going to hear about this conversation. "But Ellie wanted to keep things on the down low for a while longer... and I don't have to tell you how stubborn she can be when she's got her mind set on something." 

All three brothers incline their heads, various shades of understanding showing on their faces. "Continue," George says. 

"She's been through a lot," Nick reminds them. "I think she wanted to see where things were going with us, before she told anyone... she's been hurt before." He stops that train of thought when all three brothers get a look on their faces that is nothing short of murderous and Nick finds himself wondering if anyone has seen Jake Malloy lately or if he's suddenly mysteriously disappeared. "She doesn't want to get hurt again. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that that doesn't happen. So if that meant following her lead, lying to you guys, that's what I had to do." He spreads his hands. "I am sorry I lied to you guys. But I'm not sorry about why." 

John's brow is furrowed deep. "So you're telling us... you lied to us because our sister told you to and you wanted to make her happy?" 

Put like that, it sounds weak, almost stupid, but as Nick parses what he's just said, he finds he can't exactly pick holes in John's summation. "I guess so." 

The three brothers exchange glances and Rob is the first to speak, shrugs his shoulders so that they're up somewhere around his ears. "Works for me," he says simply and George and John nod their agreement, are back in their places watching the game by the time Ellie comes out of the bathroom, a suspicious look on her face. 

She eyes up her brothers as she walks past them, then drops down onto the couch beside Nick, curling up beside him and his arm once more goes around her shoulder like it belongs there. Maybe it does.

"We ok out here?" Ellie asks. She's talking to her brothers but she's looking at Nick and he doesn't have to think twice about his reply. 

"Perfect," he says, tightening his grip around her shoulder, leaning in and brushing a kiss to the top of her head. 

She grins, snuggles in against him at least until the next play comes along that gets her dander up and Nick thinks that this is something he could get used to very easily indeed.


End file.
